Wilson, DeLeye Lead No. 12 Kentucky Past Mississippi State

Thanks to a balanced effort that saw six Wildcats total six or more kills, the No. 12 Kentucky volleyball team coasted to a 3-0 victory over Mississippi State (25-17, 25-20, 25-11) Wednesday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Senior setter Emma Grome did a masterful job distributing the offense against the Bulldogs as the Cats hit .337 as a team with 45 total kills and only 12 errors. Grome dished out a match-high 37 assists as four players hit .417 or better.

Offensively the Kentucky attack was led by senior right side Megan Wilson who finished with nine kills on 17 swings with no errors, good for a career-best .529 hitting clip. Brooklyn DeLeye added nine kills of her own, Asia Thigpen and Jordyn Dailey each had seven, Brooke Bultema had six, and Erin Lamb totaled six in her first match returning to the lineup from injury.

Kentucky stifled Mississippi State defensively as they racked up an impressive 13.0 team blocks and held the Bulldogs to .085 hitting. Mississippi State finished the match with only 26 kills as a team and were forced into 18 hitting errors. Dailey led the way with six blocks, Wilson had five, Grome and Bultema each had four, DeLeye had three, and Thigpen and Kennedy Washington each had one.

Molly Tuozzo led the charge on the back line, picking up a match-high 12 digs in the winning effort. DeLeye added 10 digs and a trio of aces, Eleanor Beavin had eight digs and two aces, and Grome had seven.

With the win, Kentucky improves to 18-7 on the season and 12-2 in the Southeastern Conference. Next up, they’ll return home for Senior Day in the final home match of the 2024 regular season Sunday against Arkansas. With only two matches in the regular season left to go, if the Cats defeat the Razorbacks, they will clinch at least a share of an eighth-straight SEC Championship. First serve against Arkansas is set for 4:00 pm ET.